A Lifetime Mine, Forever Yours
by Muddi the Mudkip
Summary: Or I could go with option two. Pretend that I was still dead and undergo a different persona than myself. I gulped. Today, and for the rest of my life, I was going to have to do the hardest acting I would ever endure.
1. Date Night

**Hooray, my second multi-chapter! I hope you enjoy it. :)**

* * *

Sonny's POV

Watermelons. That's what they looked like. Watermelons. They way they're all clunky and huge and green with tints of pink and red. I sneered at the shoes resting on my feet and hastily kicked them off. I plopped down in my dressing room chair in defeat. I wanted to look great for my date, not look like a fruit-sicle!

Currently, all of the shoes I had tried on had looked like fruits. My first pair looked like an apple. My second, grapes. And the next three looked exactly like bananas. I was trying to find some colorful shoes to match my colorful outfit, but obviously, to no prevail.

I looked in my mirror and sighed. Maybe I should just change my outfit. But I made the mistake of looking over at my changing area and seeing the massive piles of discarded dresses.

"Knock, knock!" A voice from outside called, disrupting my thoughts.

"I'm decent!" I yelled back.

Tawni entered the room carrying a bag. "Hey, Sonny-" She paused and surveyed her surroundings. "What in the world happened here? Did a cyclone come by and tear our dressing room apart?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, Tawni, I'm just getting ready for my date."

"Well, stop your worrying because look what I've got for you!" She thrust the bag at me and smiled like she'd never smiled before.

I peeked in the bag and gasped. Inside was the best pair of shoes I'd ever seen. "Tawni!" I exclaimed. "How did you know I needed a pair of shoes?"

"Oh, just my Tawni intuition," she replied simply. "And I was emptying my closet."

"This is great! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"

"It's no problem. You can just owe me!" she said, her happy smile turning into a more devious one.

I laughed nervously. Being overly freaked out by Tawni's smile, I turned to the bag and pulled out the pair of shoes.

They were amazing. They were colorful, yet subtle. Interesting, yet plain. Large-looking, yet… too small.

"Tawni!" I grunted. "These shoes are too small!"

"Oh, I thought that they would fit your gigantic feet," she said sincerely.

"Well," I said, still struggling to get the shoes on, "you thought wrong." I yelled out in frustration as I gave up. The shoe dangled innocently on my toes.

"I guess we could always go back to the store where I bought the shoes." Tawni checked the clock. "Oh, wait, they're closed right now… Maybe we can go back tomorrow?"

"But my date's tonight!" I cried. "I guess I could keep looking for the perfect pair of shoes."

Tawni took one look at my watermelon shoes and said, "I don't think that you'll be able to find any. Those look horrible."

"Or I could change my dress."

She looked over at my piles of clothes and said, "Good luck with that."

I buried my head in my legs. "Ugh, I'll never be ready in time!"

Tawni sat down next to me and hovered a hand over my shoulder. Finally after a moment of hesitation, she patted me consolingly. "It's okay, Sonny. Isn't tomorrow the date you want to be the best? After all, isn't that your first year anniversary?"

I looked at her incredulously. "You remembered?"

"Of course I did, silly! It's been a year since I've been mad at you for dating Chad!"

I smiled meekly. "Well, at least you remembered."

"Now, come on!" Tawni cried, grabbing onto my hand and pulling me up. "Shape up and be happy! He'll be here any moment!" She went over to her closet. "Now, what size shoe are you?"

"Size eight," I said, a bit cautious about what Tawni was preparing.

The room was silent except for the sound of Tawni scampering around in her closet. "Aha, found it!" she said in a few moments.

The next thing I knew, a pair of shoes were flying at my face. "Ow!" I exclaimed.

"Sorry! Now, try those on!"

I shoved the shoes on with bated breath. "They fit!"

"Yay!"

"But, don't you think they're a bit… not colorful?"

"Sonny," Tawni said, sitting back down next to me, "when you're wearing a dress like that, the only option is to wear shoes that don't make my eyes want to pop out and shrivel up."

"Well, thanks Tawni," I said honestly.

"No prob. Just remember, you owe me!"

"Sure."

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. "Hey, hey, Chad in the house!"

"Come on in!" I called. I turned to Tawni. "Vamoose!" I whispered, pointing to the other door.

"Right," she said. "Good luck and goodbye!"

Tawni ran to the other door and exited right as Chad came in. "Wow, Sonny," he said, his voice soft. "You look amazing. I love your shoes."

I smiled. "Thanks! You don't look half bad as well."

"Thanks. I hope you didn't spend too much time our your outfit."

I jumped over to my changing area and quickly shut the curtains around it. "When have I ever done that?"

He held out an arm. "Well, are you ready to go?"

I took his arm. "I'm always ready to go."

I smiled to myself. This date was going to be perfect.

* * *

We arrived at the restaurant just in time to get our seats. Being the gentleman that he was, Chad pulled out my chair for me and pushed me in.

"Thanks, Chad!" I said.

"Your welcome," he smiled back.

He ordered for us when the waiter came by. He claimed that he knew what was the best thing on the menu.

"So," he said, "are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Of course I am! How could I not be excited for our anniversary? I even got you something."

"Ooh, presents! Gimme!"

"You'll just have to until tomorrow!" I said in sing-song fashion.

"You're just lucky that you're cute," Chad murmured.

"Are you threatening me?" I said slyly.

Chad leaned in close to me. "Of course I am," he said dangerously quiet, then kissed my forehead.

I giggled instinctively. Chad grew a smirk on his face. "I… I just thought of something funny!" I lied. I picked up one of the breadsticks and flopped it around manically. "Rubber breadstick!" I said.

"Whatever you say, Sonny," Chad said, a look in his eyes telling me he wasn't buying any of it. I quickly shoved the breadstick into my mouth.

Chad stretched back and put his arms around his head. "I can't believe that I've been dating the greatest girl in the world for a full year!"

"Don't get your hopes up," I said teasingly.

"Now, are you threatening me?" Chad said, raising an eyebrow.

I leaned in close to him. "Of course I am," I said, as quietly as he had before.

"Your voice…" he murmured. "It's giving me chills. But I'm not sure if they're good or bad."

"I would say good… but then I couldn't say _bad_." I replied, with a smirk growing on my face.

His eyes darkened. He was about to say something when our waiter came back.

"Our apologies, sir," he said, "but we are all out of filet mignon. May I interest you in our special tonight, the spicy chicken alfredo?"

"Sure," Chad said, obvious disappointment on his face at the idea of not getting his steak.

"Once again, I apologize," the waiter said, bowing to us. When he lifted his head, he got a better look at us. "Oh, my!" he exclaimed. "You two are Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Munroe, are you not?"

"Uh, yeah, we are," I said uncomfortably.

"My niece loves your shows! Wait… Sonny Munroe!" The waiter's eyes grew large and he suddenly rushed into the kitchen.

"That was bizarre." Chad stated. I nodded my agreement.

We sat around and made mushy small talk. We didn't see the waiter again until he brought out our food. "Two spicy chicken alfredos for the Chad Dylan Cooper and the Sonny Munroe."

"Hey, thanks my man!" Chad said, reaching out for his dish.

"No!" the waiter exclaimed. "That is not your dish! This is for the lovely Sonny."

"Thank you," I replied. But I couldn't help feel weird that this one had to be my dish. Chad gave me a look that told me he was thinking the same thing.

"Enjoy," the waiter said then walked away, but not before he bumped into a nearby table.

"Well," Chad said, picking up his dish. "Here's to us."

I picked up my plate, too, and we clanged ours together. "Cheers!" we both said, and then we both took a bite.

I suddenly dropped my fork in pain. My throat was starting to constrict and I could hardly breath. My chest was starting heave and I was trying my hardest to cough, but my lungs wouldn't let me. Every inch of my body was drenched in pain, and I was starting to lose consciousness.

"Sonny!" I heard Chad call. "Sonny, are you alright?"

I tried to call out for help, but my throat wouldn't let me. There had to be something in my food that I was allergic to. I had gone into anaphylactic shock.

I could feel every eye of the restaurant diners watching me, and Chad's cries were starting to get more intense. "_Sonny!_" he cried out. "_Sonny, say something! Anything! Please!_"

Someone came running out of the kitchen. "I may be a chef, but I was a doctor before! Move, please!"

A calm hand touched my shoulder. "We're going to help you," the chef said. "You're going to be okay." The last thing I remembered before blacking out was the face of someone I thought I knew.

* * *

The world was black. I was on a pump of something, but I wasn't sure of what. By the smell, I gathered that I was in a hospital of some sort. But what bothered me the most was the commotion that went on outside. Weren't hospitals supposed to be quiet?

"I'm from _Tween Weekly_!" one person cried out. "Tell me, what's the verdict about Miss Munroe?"

"Is she going to make it?" another person yelled. A bunch of other people started to ask the same question. I heard the clicks of a few cameras, too.

"Quiet, please!" the voice of the chef from the restaurant shouted. "I will answer all of your questions momentarily. But I will answer the one you all want to know the most." He cleared his throat.

I'm not sure what happened next. I felt like I was floating away, away from reality. But even though my eyes were closed, I knew it wasn't a dream, because the next sentence the chef said was so unexpected, so shocking, that it had no choice but to be real.

"Sonny Munroe is dead."

* * *

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? So excited for it that you can hardly breathe now? No? Oh well, it was worth a shot at getting someone to pass out.**

**Please review! They feel like special electronic hugs. :) Or cookies if you don't like hugs.**


	2. Hello Goodbye

**Hooray, Chapter 2! Enjoy! Or not enjoy!**

* * *

Chad's POV

I didn't hear what the chef/doctor said. My ears were starting to burst from the crowd's cries and camera flashes.

"Excuse me," I said, trying to get the attention of anyone in the crowd, but no one paid me any interest. "_Hey!_" I shouted. The room simmered down a little bit.

"What happened? Is Sonny alright?" The room then became deathly quiet. A baby started to cry, but her parent quickly shushed her.

"You… you didn't hear what I said?" the chef said.

"No. Could you repeat it?" He seemed hesitant to answer me. His eyes kept wandering around the hallway which we were in. The crowd seemed to have the same attitude, as they were shifting around nervously.

"Well?" I said in frustration.

A reporter holding a _Tween Weekly _microphone gave me a look of sorrow. "I'm so sorry, Chad," she said in a whisper, as though she was talking to a baby. "I'm so sorry."

"What… what happened?" I asked, my voice starting to unexpectedly break.

"Your girlfriend's dead!" a snot-nosed kid of about thirteen said.

I opened my mouth to say something but no words came out.

* * *

Sonny's POV

_I'm not dead… I'm not dead… _That phrase was the only thing going through my mind right now. I couldn't be dead! I was thinking! Unless… Was I in the afterlife? I wasn't too much of a believer, but I guess now I was proven wrong. If only I could open my eyes, things might make more sense!

The noise outside suddenly grew silent. What was going on? A few minutes passed of dead silence, and I became very uneasy. Suddenly, a piercing scream sounded out throughout the room.

"No!" My body ran cold. That had to be Chad.

_No, Chad! I'm fine! I'm alive! _I wanted to say, but on my mouth was a mask connected to the pump which prevented any noise coming out of me.

"Alright, alright," the voice of the chef said. "Give the guy some space. And get out of the hospital!"

The sound of footsteps stormed the hallways as they filed out. When the sound faded away, I had to strain my ears to hear the next conversation.

"It's okay," the chef consoled. "These things happen."

"No, they don't!" a hysterical Chad cried. "They don't happen to teenagers! Only old people, like you! She was so young, and so full of life and happiness! Why did this happen to her? Why not me?"

"Everything will be fine-"

"No! My life will never be the same! I _loved _her!"

My body went rigid. Love?

"And we were just about to celebrate our year-long anniversary, too. It's just like she said, '_Don't get your hopes up._' Why Sonny? Why her?" I heard a pound on the wall, and I was surprised that the waves it produced knocked down a tear that was starting to form in my eyes.

_Don't lose hope, Chad. I'm still here; I know it._

My body went cold once more with the realization of discovery. I was starting to cry. _Keep crying! Keep thinking sad thoughts! _I could feel another tear being created. This was my chance! I gathered up my strength, and opened up my eyes. I was just in time to see the chef enter the room that I was in.

"Well, well, Miss Munroe. Welcome back to Earth." The chef had an unexpected wicked look on his face. "I just got rid of your boyfriend. Poor kid. I know a lost cause when I see one."

He sat down at the foot of my bed. "How dare you pretend that you're dead?" he said, his voice thick with malevolence. "Someone obviously wanted some more publicity. And now that you're 'dead-'" he paused here for an unwanted dramatic effect, "everyone will hate you enormously for your stunted death."

I tried to protest, but the stupid mask was still covering my mouth.

"If you're wondering how my life will be affected, don't worry, I will probably be scorned upon, too. But my life won't be as tragic. I've already given up my dream of being a doctor because I didn't have enough money to finish my degree. In fact, I'm only in here because I looked like I was about to hurt somebody when I was dragging you in here. So I have nothing to lose. But you. You have everything to lose."

He got up from my hospital bed. "See you around, Miss Munroe. Or rather, I'll never see you around."

He left me sitting there, alone. Scared. And wondering about my life. What should I do? Come out alive and have the entire world hate me? What if the chef was bluffing? But I've heard of people whose whole lives have changed with just one publicity stunt. I don't think that the chef was bluffing entirely.

Or I could go with option two. Pretend that I was still dead and undergo a different persona than myself. I gulped. Today, and for the rest of my life, I was going to have to do the hardest acting I would ever endure.

* * *

Chad's POV

I stared at the piece of paper in front of me. I couldn't believe that my hand could actually move in my current state. _No, don't think about it! It hurts too much._

I had written a poem about how I had felt. Right now, I didn't care about my public appearance. I was in a mood for poetry.

_Hello._

_I see you're a Random._

_I bet you're as lame as them._

_So why am I feeling this way?_

_Why am I feeling different?_

_Time for talking is over. _

_But is it, Sonny? Is it really?_

_Hello._

_Meet the cast of _Mackenzie Falls.

_Come join us._

_We'll give you a shoulder to laugh on._

_Why do I want you be one of us so badly?_

_Please don't leave me. Us._

_Hello._

_Looks like someone didn't get any fan mail!_

_I'm sorry._

_I'll make it up to you._

_Here, I'll be Eric for you._

_I promise I just wanted to try on the beard!_

_Or maybe it was something else._

_Hello._

_Why didn't you want to come to my party?_

_I thought you were Sonny Munroe._

_The girl who liked everyone and wanted to be with them whenever._

_Well, you did come, but you didn't bring me any presents._

_And now, you can't._

_I wonder what you wanted to give me._

_I can still taste my cake._

_Hello._

_My reputation is good._

_But I want our relationship to be better._

_I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to hang out._

_I knew that the camera was off._

_One day, I'll get to hang out with you._

_Hello._

_Why did you have to date that jerk?_

_He's so stupid and idiotic!_

_Why did I agree to being your fake date?_

_Because after that, that was the only thing I could think about._

_And when we started to date,_

_All of our outings were just as sweet._

_I wish I could see you again._

_Stupid cute._

_Hello._

_Do you remember the Basement?_

_I know you do._

_But do you remember when the walls came crashing down?_

_How you clutched onto me?_

_I remember._

_I wonder if you still remember._

_Hello._

_I know that proms are stupid._

_But sometimes I hear that you get that special dance with that special guy._

_I know you didn't feel it at the time,_

_But I knew I was that special guy._

_I wish you could have seen your prom._

_We could have danced longer._

_I could have told you about how I felt._

_But I waited._

_Hello._

_I loved that time on Lookout Mountain._

_Too bad the times weren't real._

_I wish that they were._

_But at least I brought you to Lookout Mountain while we were dating._

_Hello._

_Selena Gomez was right._

_We were perfect for each other._

_You do have pretty hair._

_Do I still have sparkly eyes?_

_Can you still see them?_

_Hello._

_I would have given you that audition if it was real._

_And I would have chosen you to be my cohort._

_Why did Zora have to ruin it?_

_Hello._

_Sorry I almost ruined the Prop House._

_It was the only way I could talk to you without arousing suspicion. _

_By the way, you really are my biggest fan._

_I'm your biggest fan, too._

_Hello._

_I've been thinking about this for a long time._

_How about we go to a basketball game?_

_There's excitement and food._

_Oh yeah, and the kiss cam._

_You can't say no to the kiss cam, you know._

_Oh, and if you had been in danger, I would have saved you._

_I just know it._

_Hello._

_Remember when I guest starred on _So Random!_?_

_I wish we could have kissed._

_It would have been wonderful._

_I can almost hear the audience go "Aww!"_

_And we isn't my nickname for you._

_It just means we._

_Hello._

_You should have bought a box of cookies._

_I wanted a hug from you._

_And thanks for saving my life._

_I wish I could have repaid you by saving yours._

_Hello._

_I hate talk shows._

_They make me reveal my true feelings._

_I almost said that I liked you on national television!_

_I wish I did, though._

_And that was much easier than I thought._

_I miss you so much._

_Hello._

_I actually don't mind other people reading books._

_Like before, I just wanted to go against you._

_I love it when you're angry at me._

_You're so cute._

_I deeply love you._

_Hello._

_I really did want to help you get over Gassie._

_I wish I didn't turn it into a scam to make more money._

_I promise I'll make… yours better._

_Hello._

_I hope you weren't acting when you said only Chad Dylan Cooper could save you._

_I can still feel your warmth around me._

_I said I would save you._

_But I just stood there, doing nothing._

_Hello._

_Sonny, will you go out with me?_

_Those words had been building inside of me all this time._

_I was a jerk, but it's not a toughie that I wanted to date you._

_Our date will be perfect._

_Hello._

_Okay, I lied._

_Our first date wasn't perfect._

_In fact, it was awful._

_But your stupid cuteness turned me into a weirdo!_

_I'm just glad our second first date was perfect._

_Hello._

_Every single moment with you has been wonderful._

_You've changed me, Sonny._

_Why did you leave me?_

_I'll never eat at that restaurant again._

_The memories hurt me too much._

_But what hurts me the most is that I never got to say that one word._

_Goodbye.

* * *

_

**Ugh, Chad's poem was lame. In case you didn't get it, it was basically a summary of all the Channy in almost all of the episodes from his POV. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! *hugs* ****And on that note, please review!**


	3. Work Wanted

**Yay, I cranked this chapter out! Which means my next one will be out not too soon. **

* * *

Tawni's POV

I sat on the couch in the Prop House, flipping through channels and doing my nails. At the same time.

Currently, there was nothing good on TV. When I got to the Condor Studio's channel, they were only playing reruns of _Mackenzie Falls. _I almost started to watch it, but thought better of it and continued channel surfing.

"Do you constantly find yourself-"

"Enjoy your stay at the _Holiday Inn,_ where-"

"-which we all can agree is extremely-"

"Oh my gosh, it's Hannah Montana-"

"-beloved _So Random! _star has passed away-"

"I enjoy fried chicken so much that-"

"Wait!" I cried. I flipped back a station to check on the news.

"To our viewers that have just tuned in, a great tragedy has occurred," Maria Cormack, a reporter of _Tween Weekly_ said. "I'm nearby a hospital bearing the terrible news that one of _So Random!_'s most favorite actresses is now deceased. I'm not talking about Tawni Hart or Zora Lancaster. I'm talking about Sonny Munroe, the young and spunky girl of 18. Inside sources say that she had an allergic reaction while on a date with her boyfriend, Chad Dylan Cooper, and did not make it to the hospital in time. When we questioned Cooper, 'No comment' was all he could provide. With me now is the chef that was at the restaurant of the incident. Chef, could you tell me-"

I turned off the television. My brain was not processing what I had just heard. Sonny? Dead? No, she couldn't be. She was on a date with Chad. She was having a great time wearing the shoes I gave her. And today was her anniversary. This couldn't be real. This had to be a dream. But why did that reporter seem so real and serious?

"-and then you put the mustard into the gravy and- Tawni! Hey, what's going on?" Nico and Grady had entered the Prop House talking about who knows what.

"Sonny is dead," I said faintly.

"What?" Grady asked.

"Sonny is dead!" I screamed. "She's gone and she's never coming back! Now, if you excuse me, I have to go put on layers of makeup!"

I pushed the boys out of my way and covered my crying eyes with my arms. As I was leaving, I heard Nico say meekly, "Dead?"

I burst into my dressing room and crashed down into my chair. My sobs were loud and messy, and my nose was starting to stop up. But that was a good thing. My whole dressing room reeked of Sonny. This was her room, too! She was alive here not too long ago!

I brushed away my tears, but they just kept coming. A part of me wanted to go over to where the curtain drawn around Sonny's clothes was and bury myself in the things that I had made fun of so much, but secretly liked. But another part of me wanted to keep sitting here and crying. I went with my more sensible one and stayed motionless in my chair, only moving when I tried to breathe, which made me shake violently.

"How could this have happened?" I asked myself. I kept sobbing to myself as quietly as I could, but it was very hard.

As I reached for a box of tissues, it dawned upon me. Why was Sonny no longer with us? The answer was quite simple.

Chad Dylan Cooper.

* * *

Sonny's POV

After lying in the hospital bed regaining my strength and trying to move my limbs, I thought about what I was going to do. I obviously couldn't just stay here, otherwise I would end up as most of the world thought I was right now. But where could I go? I couldn't go home; my mom would probably have a heart attack if she saw her dead daughter suddenly come back to life. And I couldn't leave town; I didn't have any money!

At that point, I decided that the first thing I needed to do was get a job. But who would hire a person who doesn't even have a résumé? And then, I had a epiphany.

I could go to Condor Studios. I knew that they currently needed a stagehand, and as to my suspicious behavior, I could say that I was an aspiring actress who was constantly performing a different role! Not only that, but they had tons of different costumes that I could wear.

And I could stay in an empty dressing room! I didn't have to worry about which one I could use; the _Mackenzie Falls _set had tons of unused dressing rooms that they had, and Chad had given me a key to one of them that I currently had. I didn't have to worry about being caught because according to Chad, no one ever used that dressing room. And it just so happened to be located in the area of the set where no one went to.

I smiled. I had a place to work and a place to stay until I got enough money to leave. And, at the same time, I could be close to the people that I love. Yeah, there was the slight drawback of them not knowing me at all and thinking I was just the lame stagehand, but that's beside the point.

When I was certain that I could move around again, I gathered up my strength once more and thrust myself out of the hospital bed. Sure, I smacked down onto the floor, but after a few attempts, I got up and started to walk around. I did a few laps around the room to make sure I was physically stable, then checked my dress pocket to see if I had any money. I counted out a few coins and was relieved to see that there was enough for a bus ride.

I took a deep breath and exited my hospital room. Today, I was no longer Sonny Munroe. I was someone new.

* * *

"Here we are at Condor Studios, home of some popular TV shows such as _Mackenzie Falls_, _So Random!_, _Meal or No Meal_, and _Tween Gladiators_," the bus driver said into his radio intercom. I got off the bus while making sure that the doctor's coat I "borrowed" from the hospital was safely covering my dress. I made a mental note to myself to make sure to return the coat. I had also "borrowed" a pair of sunglasses from the lost and found, and had tied up my hair into a ponytail.

I went inside the building feeling strange. I wasn't here as Sonny. I was here as… someone else. My stomach started to do back flips as I walked over to security.

"Yeah, tell Greg that I need to talk to him as soon as possible. Oh, gotta hang up. Someone's here." The guard, which happened to be Murphy, hung up his phone. "What do you want?" he said with a sneer.

"I'm here for the job position of the stagehand," I said, my voice a bit higher and my eyes pleading that Murphy didn't recognize me.

"Name?" he asked. I sighed. He definitely didn't recognize me. But what would my name be?"

"Uh… Allie. Allie Martin."

"A-L-L-I-E or A-L-L-Y?"

"The first one."

"Guessing this is short for Allison?"

"Yes."

"Well, then next time please specify yourself as Allison, not Allie." Murphy jotted down a few things on a clipboard then handed me a pass.

"That is your pass to get around this studio. Do not lose that pass. After you're done here, return to this desk and sign out. Do not forget to sign out." Murphy took a bite of pizza that was sitting on his desk. "Mr. Condor's office is two lefts from here and second door on the right. Any questions? Good. Now scram!"

Remembering how Murphy gets ticked off easily, I quickly scurried away. My feet automatically lead me to Mr. Condor's office since I had been at Condor Studios enough to remember where all of the rooms were. However, to keep pretending that I had not been here before, I said to myself, "Now, what did that guard say? Two lefts and first door on my right? Or second?" every time someone walked by me.

Finally, I arrived in front of Mr. Condor's door. I took a deep breath and knocked three times on the door.

"Enter!" a booming voice from the other side called.

I opened the door nervously. "Hello, Mr. Condor," I said as properly as I could.

"Hey, you don't look like any of my assistants. If you're not here to deliver my bagel and cream cheese sandwich, then get out of here!"

"No, Mr. Condor, I'm here to apply of the job of stagehand."

Mr. Condor choked on his breath. "Really? That's amazing! You're the first person to come here wanting that job!"

I looked over in the corner which had posters of help wanted and noticed that the pile was untouched. I also noticed a to-do list on the wall had the task "Advertise stagehand job" uncrossed and was a month overdue.

"I wonder why," I murmured to myself.

"Come, sit down, I don't have all day!" Mr. Condor said, pointing to a chair in front of his desk.

I sat down hastily. Mr. Condor pulled out a clipboard. "I'm going to need you to fill this out."

I looked at the form. Address, telephone number, relative names, emergency contact information. I started to panic. There was no way I could fill out this form without giving up my identity!

"Mr. Condor," I said, my voice changing to sound like I was making a deal, "do you really need all of this information?"

"Of course I have to have that information. It's required."

I hesitated. "But, who has time to fill out and look over all of this information? I mean, you probably need a stagehand right away, am I correct?"

"Yes, you are true, but I need all of this info in case of emergency. Did you hear that we lost one of our actresses? Sunday, I think that was her name."

I smiled through lying teeth. "I… I don't think I've heard about this news yet."

And then I realized something. Mr. Condor was inadvertently giving me the way out of doing the form!

"That seems like a shame," I said with mock passion.

"It is," Mr. Condor nodded.

"But I guess that because one of your workers passed away, people are going to think twice about working here."

"Very true," Mr. Condor said, a bit of fear starting to settle in his eyes.

"And it might be hard for you to get a stagehand here."

"And I've been needing a stagehand for a long time, too."

"Exactly. So, you could give me the job and not make me fill out the form, or I could leave and you could never get that stagehand." I was surprised at how devious I sounded. What am I becoming?

Mr. Condor was deep in thought for a while. Finally, he said, "But what about your paycheck?"

"I could pick it up at the studio," I suggested.

"I don't know…"

"I'll take minimum wage."

"You're hired!" Mr. Condor exclaimed. "I'll sign you on right away. You'll have to get a worker's pass, too. Wait a second."

I gulped. "Is something the matter, Mr. Condor?"

"You haven't told me your name."

I sighed in relief. "Allison Martin. Allie for short."

"I'll never remember that, but I'll tell my secretary." He pushed a button on his intercom. "Karen! Make a worker's pass for Allison Martin. She's our new stagehand."

A pause. Then, "You got it, Mr. Condor."

Mr. Condor smiled at me. "You'll be working for all of the major shows. First thing I want you to do is go to _So Random!_'s set. We're going to need a lot of help there. Wait, scratch that, go to reception first and get your ID. Oh, and welcome to the Condor family, Miss Marvin."

I smiled back. "Thank you. And it's _Martin_."

"Whatever. Now, get out of my office."

I left the office with Mr. Condor yelling on his intercom about his bagel. After making sure no one was looking, I pumped my fist in the air. I had successfully weaseled my way out of paperwork and got a job at Condor Studios. This incognito act could actually work out.

Deciding to start work, my feet once again went automatically over to reception. Karen, the secretary, told me to sit down in an indicated chair.

"Smile!" Karen said cheerfully.

A camera clicked and an ID card was printed out. She handed it to me and I pinned it on.

"Congratulations. Most people have to fill out a job application before they get a job here." My face must have looked pretty incredulous because Karen laughed and said, "Mr. Condor is always keeping his intercom on. It's actually kind of fun. Well, good luck."

I smiled my thanks and left reception. I sat down on a chair outside and sighed. Time to meet my fellow castmates while disguised as someone else. My lying and weaseling act was just getting started.

* * *

**Looking back on it now, I personally thought this was a boring chapter. Ironically, it's one of my longest so far. Feel free to disagree, however. :P **


	4. Three Hot Dogs and a Salad

**I was too lazy to post this yesterday. But here it is today!**

* * *

Sonny's POV

When I was good and ready I walked to Marshall's office and knocked on the door.

"Come on in!"

I entered the office to see Marshall eating a bagel and cream cheese sandwich. "Ah, you must be the new stagehand Karen informed me about. Did you find my office alright?"

"I managed to get here okay, and-" I was momentarily distracted by the image of Marshall trying to eat a huge bite of bagel and cream cheese.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" He thrust the now floppy bagel at me. "Want some?"

"No thanks," I said, shooing away the sandwich with my hands.

Marshall shrugged and took another bite. "I didn't order one, but I'm not giving up free food. I wonder whose sandwich this was supposed to be."

"I wonder."

Marshall took another bite, then said, "Well, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I assume you know what your current task is on our set?"

"Not exactly. I was just hired, you see, and I've only been working for, like, five minutes, and no one's bothered to tell me what I need to do."

Marshall looked at me funny. "You say you were just hired? Most people here wait to start working for about a week after they've been hired, not on the spot."

"Well, I'm not like most people. I didn't even have to fill out any paperwork."

Marshall's eyes grew wide. "Wow, Mr. Condor must really like you."

"Or at least he thinks he does." I muttered to myself.

"Pardon?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Well, anyway, what I need you to do is take inventory on our props. We've been missing a few, and we need them for an upcoming sketch. Even though it's your first day, do you think you could start searching?"

"It's no problem."

"Excellent! Too bad Sonny had to die, because I'm pretty sure that she has most of the missing props!" He chuckled weekly. The room was quiet for a moment, until he said, "Here's a list of the missing props. Now, if you'll excuse me I have… some paperwork I need to do. Very important. Yes. Very important…"

I took that as my signal to leave. I exited the office with Marshall sniffling into a pocket hanky. I rested my head on the wall. I could barely deal with Marshall's sadness without wanting to take off my sunglasses and coat and saying, "Surprise, it's me, Sonny!" This was going to be a lot harder than I could imagine. I kicked a nearby trashcan in frustration. Why did I have to die?

I unfolded the list of missing props to get my mind off of everything. Big baby bottle, tea pot costume, check-it-out lunch meat… Wait a second, these were all props I had! I smiled to myself. This was going to be a piece of cake. Score one for Team Sonny! Or was it Team Allie now?

I went to the Prop House to check where I stashed my props. Behind the baby head in the fridge was the check-it-out lunch meat. One down, a huge list to go. Well, no one said that work was going to be fun.

"Hey!" A voice said behind me. "What are you doing sniffing around in our refrigerator?"

I turned around. "Grady!" I exclaimed as I put my arms around him in a hug.

"Oh my goodness, not another fan! Security!"

"No!" I cried. "That's not necessary! I'm not a fan; well, I am a fan, but I mean I work here!" I pulled out my worker's pass and showed it to Grady.

"Ah, you do work here! Never mind!" he cried out to security. "Sorry about, that, uh, Miss Martin," he said while taking a better look at my ID. "Ever since we had that Eric guy randomly come on our set, we've had to bump up security."

"I see."

"Yeah, it was fun at first but now it's just annoying. Every time I try to come in here, our security guard Murphy has to check my socks with a metal detector to make sure I didn't smuggle any video games in here."

I stifled my laughter as I remembered the first time Murphy checked Grady's socks. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's a shame, I know. Hey, you look a little familiar. Have we met in my earlier years?"

I gulped. Making sure my voice was sufficiently higher, I said, "Well, I don't think I've met you before. In any lifetime."

Grady shrugged. "So, I'm guessing that you're the new stagehand that we've been needing for a while? I haven't seen anyone new that works here in a while, and your pass says stagehand on it."

"I am new here, and I'm very excited to get to work."

Grady's face grew panicked. "Oh, do you want me to leave? I'll leave, if you want me to. It's no bother."

"No! It's fine; I don't mind the company."

"Cool. Ever since we heard the news about Sonny, people have gotten a little tense around here." He sat down on the couch and looked troubled. "She was so great. Why do bad things happen to good people?"

I sat down next to Grady. My voice was starting to choke up, so I just patted his shoulder. I could see tears starting to form in his eyes. "Don't give up," I managed to say. "I'm sure she's happy right now."

"Of course she is; she was always happy." Grady sniffled a bit then wiped his nose with his hand, much to my disgust.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't usually get all sentimental like this. Well, sometimes I do, but only for good causes!"

He got up from the couch and brushed imaginary dust off his shorts. "Well, I hope you have a good time at Condor Studios, because right now, everyone else is having a pretty lousy time."

He started to leave before I cried, "Wait!" He paused while I got up from the couch.

"Could you tell me where the other So Random! stars are? I… I'd really like to meet them."

"Well, Nico is off crying in a corner like a little baby, Tawni is acting like a maniac and screaming at anyone who says hi to her, and Zora is sitting in the commissary acting normal. Quite honestly, I don't know which one is worse."

I paused for a moment. "Well, thanks for the info. See you later, Grady."

He waved his goodbye as I plopped back down on the couch. Why, why, why did everyone have to think that I was dead? Was my life really this important to everyone? And that was only my costars! What about Chad and the Mackenzie Falls cast? They were actually starting to not hate me! And what about my mom? How was she handling all of this? I punched a pillow. How much I hated that chef right now.

Then a thought occurred. I could tell the world I was still alive. But that dream was crushed straight away by reality. I could never say who I really was. If I did, the world would really wish I was dead. I could lose my job, my friends, and my life. I fought back tears. I've already lost my job, my friends, and my life. I buried my head in a pillow and cried for a long time.

* * *

Chad's POV

Weird things were happening to me. I was shoving food into my mouth, but there was no taste. And I kept eating, too. My stomach was currently a bottomless pit of despair.

"If you don't feel any different, you are hopeless," Portlyn said from across the table.

"I already said that I wasn't hungry, Port."

"Then why did you go through three hot dogs and a salad?"

I got up from the table. "I need some air." I left Portlyn sitting there with my half eaten hot dog and my empty salad container. I passed by the short Random girl who always had weird hair, but I was surprised to see that she had her hair down and straight. She was staring at a box of napkins, completely unaware of her surroundings.

I shook my head. I didn't have time to interest myself with other people's problems. I was dealing with a few of my own.

I exited the commissary and sat down on a nearby bench. The air was cool and brisk, unusual for an afternoon in California. The lot was empty except for a guy smoking. I tried to call out that you couldn't smoke within twenty feet of Condor Studios ground, but my breath was lost in the wind.

It didn't take long for the man to notice me. He walked over to my bench and sat down next to me. He pulled out a bag of chips.

"Want some?" he asked.

"No thanks. I already had three hot dogs and a salad."

The guy shrugged and went back to smoking.

"Hey, you know you're not allowed to smoke around here, you know that?"

"Who's going to enforce that rule; you?" The guy chuckled loudly. But he put out his cigarette. "Nasty habit, anyways. I only smoke to make myself look cool." He punched my shoulder. "Doesn't work, though! Promise me kid, don't start and end up like me, 'kay?"

I nodded. "Whatever you say." Who did this creep think he was, punching Chad Dylan Cooper?

I sat there uneasily as the guy surveyed his surroundings. "So this is the famous Condor Studios, huh? Not much of a place. It looks just like the other studios. Don't know why it's so famous. Maybe because of the shows, I guess."

He scrutinized me more carefully. "Hey, you're that Chad Dylan Cooper fellow!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out. Please."

The man chuckled again. "I like you, kid! I bet we would get along great. Hey, I heard about what happened to your girlfriend. Shame. She was really pretty, too."

"She wasn't pretty; she was drop-dead gorgeous. Literally now, I guess."

I smiled at my bad pun. I guess that the only thing that could make me smile now was the harsh success of a terrible pun. The man didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I did, though.

"I'm tired of acting like this," he snarled. He took off the trench coat that he was wearing and his thick sunglasses. I took one look at him and made a gasp that would have made my director proud.

"You! You're that waiter at the restaurant I just went to!"

"Wow, you're a smart one!" the waiter said sarcastically. Before I knew it, a knife was being held at my neck.

"Listen, kid, me and the boss have been working on this plan for years, and you are probably the only person that can ruin this."

"Boss? Who could you be working for? Tell me!"

"I take that back; you are a dumb one. Now, pay attention." He brought in the knife closer to my neck. "You loved this girl, didn't you? Didn't want her to go? Wanted her to stay, and love you, and hug and kiss and marry and have three children with you?"

I nodded my head as much as I could without my skin being cut by the blade. "Yes, sir," I squeaked. "Well, maybe not three children, but-"

"Quiet, Goldfarb!"

"Hey, how do you know about my last name?"

"Not important! The only thing important right now is that you don't want Sonny to get hurt, right?"

I laughed hollowly. "She's dead. How much more can she be hurt?"

"Well, you know what they say," the waiter said, his voice threatening and his expression wild and mad, "dead people can still be harmed." He released the knife from my throat and scuttled off.

"Hey, nobody says that!" I yelled. The waiter clambered into his car and drove away. "Get back here!"

The waiter rolled down his window. "What, you think I'm like those phony actors in your stupid show? That I'm going to come to you quietly? Ha, you really are dumb!" His tires screeched away, leaving skid marks in the parking lot.

I started to ran after him, but physics say that man cannot be as fast as a car going at top speed. I tried to make a mental note of the license plate, but I forgot it almost immediately.

I kneeled down on the pavement in defeat. I could still feel the cold blade of the knife near my neck. I gulped. My life was in danger. And suddenly, Sonny's death didn't seem like an accident anymore.

* * *

***insert suspenseful music* Oh no, what's going to happen to Chad? Find out in the next exciting chapter of A Lifetime Mine, Forever Yours! Please review!**


	5. Shower Time

**Welcome back!**

* * *

Sonny's POV

I entered the _Mackenzie Falls _set weary from a long day of prop searching. I fumbled around in my pocket for the dressing room key that Chad gave me and unlocked the door.

I gasped. Most of it was because it was a pretty run down place. This dressing room looked like it hadn't been used in centuries. There were outfits in here from shows that aired before _Mackenzie Falls _even started. Piles and piles of clutter surrounded a broken vanity and a worn out couch. Not only that, but the dressing room was incredibly tiny. I sighed.

"Home."

I cleared off the piles of junk off the couch and searched for a blanket of some sorts. The closest thing that I found was a furry coat that looked like it was worn by someone who was really large. I bundled up a few soft scarves together to make a pillow. When I cleared and spruced up the place around my couch, it looked a lot more livable now.

The next thing I did was search through the outfits hanging on a rack. A lot of them looked like they were from the 60s and some of them were just plain bizarre. I picked an outfit that was similar to what the _Mackenzie Falls_ people wore, but in a different color. A discarded outfit idea, perhaps? I planned out the clothes for tomorrow, making sure that I didn't get them too close to what the _Mackenzie Falls _cast wore.

I went back to the rack and searched for pajamas of some sort. I found a dress that looked like my grandmother wore it, but it was comfortable and I was tired, so I put it on and laid down on my couch. It was lumpy and hard, but at least it was better than the floor. Or the street.

I pulled up my coat cover and fluffed the scarf pillow and settled in. This was how I was going to live for a long time. I shut my eyes and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I stretched my aching back and put on my preplanned outfit. When I looked in the vanity, I almost screamed. My hair looked like a rat had been living in it. I searched the clutter piles for a comb of some kind, but I had a better idea when I found a blonde wig lying in the piles.

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, then hastily put it on. The hair looked natural enough. "Hey, I look good as a blonde," I said, winking to myself.

I put on my sunglasses and left my dressing room. The set was deadly quiet. I looked for the nearest clock, which told me that it was almost eight o'clock. We usually didn't arrive until ten, and the other workers didn't arrive until about nine. I grinned. I had the entire studio to myself for a little less than an hour. Time to find out where I was going to freshen myself up.

I searched around the set for a little bit, until reaching a beautifully decorated door. I held my breath. Chad's private bathroom.

I found myself reaching a shaking hand out to the knob, before realizing what I was doing. I shot my hand back. But still, I _really _had to go to the bathroom. And I was starting to smell bad. Glancing around to make sure that no one was watching, I opened the door to Chad's bathroom and went inside.

Imagine the finest hotel bathroom you can think of. Now, multiply that by twenty and give it a few pinball machines and other assorted nonsense. That's what I saw when I entered. It was bathroom heaven. But I wasn't about to go wasting precious time. I ran to the toilet and did my thing.

I was about to leave when I noticed the showers and tub. The showerhead and the entirety of the tub was solid gold. I hesitated for a few seconds. I couldn't. But I really did stink awfully. Maybe just a fast shower. Nothing fancy. Just a quick rinse of my body and a shampoo. I turned the water on.

I carefully put my clothes and wig in a hidden pile and jumped on in. It was pure bliss. The water ran down and soaked my aching limbs from head to toe. I looked at Chad's selection of soaps and I could feel my eyes almost pop out of my head. Dozens upon dozens of body wash were available, to say nothing of the shampoos and conditioners. I giggled like a kid in a candy shop. I was about to have the best shower of my life.

I smelled all of the bottles to find the ones I liked the best, combined all of them to make a delicious aroma of scents, and I gently lathered it into my hair. My hair was going to look amazing. Too bad no one would get to see it once I put it back into my wig. A thought came into my mind. _If this incident hadn't have happened, you wouldn't have felt this luxurious shower, now would you? _

I guess I lost track of time because all of a sudden I heard the jingle of the doorknob. I quickly shut off the water. The door opened and someone walked in. I started to panic.

"Wow, it smells so good in here! Just like you, Chad!" I started to freak out even more. Chad was in his private bathroom. And I was in the shower, not alive and naked.

I heard the sound of a tub starting to be filled up. "It's so steamy in here. Guess I must have accidentally left on sauna mode."

Sauna mode? Okay, I definitely had to check that out if I ever came back. Or if I even made it out alive. No pun intended.

I heard the splash of Chad getting into his tub. I groaned. It was going to be impossible to make it out here. And so, I stood there, cold and still wet, while Chad was in the tub next to me, completely oblivious as he played around and squeaked his rubber ducky. And squeaked. And squeaked. The next thing I would do if I came back in here was decapitate that piece of rubber.

It felt like a century, but I heard the sound of a tub draining, and Chad exiting the water.

"Where's my special fluffy towel?" he asked himself.

I froze for a second, then a sly smile crept up. I could just pull back the shower curtain and see- _No, Sonny! What are you doing? You've already gone and used the man's bathroom for heaven's sake! Quit thinking perverted thoughts!_

Telling my hormones to get a life, I sank back from the shower curtain.

"Aha! I found you! Hey, what's this?"

My body went cold. He couldn't possibly have found my items.

"This looks like a bad imitation of our _Mackenzie Falls _outfits. And what's with this wig?"

I grew even more scared than I had before, if that was even possible. Chad wasn't an idiot. He was going to find out sooner or later. I waited with bated breath. A curious sound emitted from Chad's throat as he began to realize what was happening.

"I've-" Chad began as I could feel him reaching for the shower curtain. I had only a split second to take action. I grabbed the long shower curtain and hid myself behind it, wishing so much that he didn't wonder why his curtains were bundled up strangely.

"-got you!" The shower curtain was pulled back. I tried my hardest not to make a single noise or movement.

"Oh," a disappointed Chad said. "Never mind." He closed the curtain and I heard him leave the bathroom. I collapsed on the floor in relief. Finally, I could get out of here!

Without a moment to lose, I put on the clothes (I had conveniently dried off while I was waiting) and the wig and rushed out of the bathroom. As I was running back to my dressing room, I glanced at a clock. 8:57.

I changed into the first decent looking outfit I could find and headed over to Marshall's office.

"I'm here and ready for my next assignment!" I said.

Marshall looked at me like I was an alien. "Who are you?"

I laughed, a bit confused. "Marshall, it's me, Allie!"

"Oh! I didn't recognize you at first. You dyed your hair blonde? Very nice. You know, without your sunglasses, you look a lot Sonny. I guess that's just my subconscious thinking that, though."

I chuckled nervously. I had forgotten my sunglasses! "Well, some people tell me that I look a bit like her."

"I see," Marshall said, staring at my face even harder. I covered part of it with my hand.

"Anyway, I checked inventory before I came in here, and it seems that you've managed to locate all of the missing props, so I don't need you at the moment. But the people over at _Mackenzie Falls_ could use a little help. Why don't you go over there?"

"Sure. No problem."

I walked to the set thinking that I was becoming more of a gofer than a stagehand.

I searched for the director, Mr. Smith, to find out my next assignment. I found him sitting in a chair on the set.

"Hello, Mr. Smith. I'm Allie, and I'm the new stagehand here. I heard you needed help?"

He barely paid me any attention, but he said, "Yeah, Chad Dylan Cooper needs something. Just don't go all fangirly over him, okay?"

"I'll try not to, Mr. Smith." I said with fake enthusiasm.

He gave me a look of disgust as he pointed to Chad's dressing room.

I knocked two times on the door and then it opened. When our eyes met, two things happened. The first thing that happened was that I immediately fell back in love with the guy. The second thing that happened was he gave me such a look of dread that he screamed at me and slammed the door shut.

Today was going to be a long day.

"Chad!" I called, knocking again on the door. "Please, open up."

"But… your hair! You're that girl from my bathroom!"

"Uh… I have no idea what you're talking about. You have a bathroom?"

"Duh! I'm Chad Dylan Cooper!"

"And I'm Allie! See, we're already getting to know each other. Now, could you please open the door? I've been sent to help you."

Chad peeked open the door. "Answer this question for me. Are you a crazy psychopath following me and trying to kill me?"

"Wha- No, of course not!"

"Get in the dressing room."

He opened the door and the next thing I knew I was being shoved into Chad's dressing room. He locked the door behind us and told me to sit down.

"I want you to listen closely," Chad said. I gulped. What was happening with Chad? "Yesterday, I got a death threat from a waiter. He told me something about my meddling in his plans, or something. The thing is, the way he worded it, it sounded like he had murdered a… a close friend of mine."

I bit my lip as I nodded to show that I was paying attention.

"And today, when I was taking a bath to try and forget everything, I found a pile of clothes that definitely weren't mine."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. I don't usually wear skirts and wigs."

_Don't usually? _"So, what do you think about this?"

Chad leaned in closer to me. "I think the waiter and his boss have sent someone to Condor Studios to spy on me," he whispered.

I mentally face palmed. My hygienic needs were causing my boyfriend to go paranoid. "I wouldn't worry too much about it," I told him. "It was probably just the laundry person accidentally leaving behind some clothes."

"But… I could have sworn I heard breathing while I was in there."

"Maybe it was your own?"

Chad paused for a second and started to hyperventilate. He stopped after a few more seconds. "Yeah, it was probably me. I didn't realize I was such a heavy breather."

An awkward moment of silence passed, and he sat down next to me. He sighed. "I know you're new here, and you didn't get to meet her, but Sonny made everyone feel better in their times of sadness. If she was here, we all wouldn't be down in the dumps and terrified of small things. Heck, if she was here, this whole fiasco wouldn't have happened."

He grew quiet. "I… I just miss her so much. She was the only reason I got up in the morning and came here. My costars just didn't get me like she did, and Sonny made me a better Mackenzie."

He stopped talking. I took one look into his blue eyes, and I melted. "Oh, Chad," I said softly, wrapping my arms around him in an embrace. We sat there for a little while, not saying anything. I didn't realize what I was doing. But… he smelled so _Chad_. And I had been lacking my daily dose of Chad.

"You smell like me," he murmured into my ear. "You smell like Sonny."

I came to my senses. I returned my arms and got up from the couch. "If that is all you need, I… I should be going now."

I left a bewildered Chad to go find out my next assignment.

"You?" Mr. Smith said as I came back. "What do you want now?"

"I helped Chad with his problem. Now, is there anything more… stagehand-y that you need me to do?"

"Yes. Our lighting has been off for a really long time. Now, the darkness is good on drama shows. It gives more suspense. But sometimes, we need a more happy scene. The lights haven't been working very well for about a month, so we've been putting off our happier scenes for a while. We just keep producing all these depressing and suspenseful episodes, and the media is getting tired of it. So fix those lights!"

"Yes, sir," I said, while wondering why no other stagehand had fixed the lights before. I went over to where they kept the light wires and found the answer to my question.

Ancient looking wires twisted around each other in a fashion that would make any knot proud. Sparks were flying off unpredictably, and flies that came too close to the wires were instantly zapped.

I moaned. I liked being a gofer better.

* * *

**Did you like it? This chapter probably won't be my favorite, but if it's yours, cool!**


	6. Water Balloons

**This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!**

* * *

Chad's POV

I ran to my bathroom and filled up my sink to the brim with icy cold water. I dunked my head all the way in to try and clear my senses. What was going on with me? My girlfriend dies and I'm falling for another woman? One I just met and who I had previously thought was a maniac in my shower trying to kill me?

I dunked my head back into the water. What happened to the cool Chad Dylan Cooper? One accident-or on purpose event- and I've turned into some psychotic mushy boy. I pushed my face back into the sink. This wasn't working!

I dried my head off with a towel and left my bathroom. Maybe rehearsal of playing Mackenzie could get everything off of my mind. Now was about the time to start filming, anyway. But when I went over to my set, _she _was there!

She waved at me, all happy and stuff, like she didn't even know what was going on through my head. So I glared at her. Her brown eyes got a hint of sadness in them, and it really didn't help that her face looked exactly like Sonny's. I wanted to scream and tear my hair out. I was seeing Sonny _everywhere_.

I decided to go to the commissary to get a snack. Even though food didn't have any taste, maybe this was my body's way of telling me it still needed something to eat. I left my stage with Mr. Smith yelling at me to get my "big fat lazy butt back here and get to work".

But I took one step outside my set and _bam!_ I was hit in the head with a water balloon. The water still didn't work on clearing my head, and I was certain that the water used in the balloon was not purified bottled water.

"Hey look, it's Chad Dylan Pooper!" a voice called from up above me. I looked up to see some of the Randoms.

"Who do you guys think you are?" I yelled back at them. "Throwing water balloons at Chad Dylan Cooper?"

"Pooper!" the Rico guy shouted back. He threw another water balloon at me. I dodged it quickly, though.

"So, what, have you guys just been waiting up there for me?" I yelled at them.

"That's right!" the short Random said. "We've thrown some balloons at Chad doppelgangers and we have paid dearly for it! But it was worth it; did you guys see the look on that last one's face?" The other Randoms laughed their agreement.

"And so I propose this question: Why on _earth _did you have to hit me in the head with a water balloon?"

"Because this is all your fault!" the blonde girl said.

"What's my fault?"

"Sonny's death! If you hadn't taken her to that restaurant in the first place, this wouldn't have happened!"

"They were out of filet mignon! The guy suggested that we get the spicy chicken alfredo! And I didn't make Sonny have an allergic reaction!"

"Maybe not, but I need to blame this on somebody! And you were the next best thing."

I rolled my eyes at them. "I really don't have time for your low-class water balloon shenanigans. I am dealing with first-class murder and deception!"

"You wish you were dealing with first-class murder and deception!" Gravy cried and threw another water balloon at me.

I knocked it away with a flick of my arm and angrily stomped away.

"Hey! Come back here and take this water balloon like a man!" Nora shouted.

I left the Randoms behind with them complaining at me and throwing short distance water balloons.

* * *

Sonny's POV

Working with these cables was proving to be a nightmare. I had to try and untangle them without electrocuting myself, which was a challenge. I had already fried my hands about four times, and the way the wires were fashioned and seemingly staring evilly at me did not seem good to me.

While trying to deal with the mess, I saw Chad walk by looking distressed. I waved at him, but he just stared at me with hatred. I groaned. What was Chad's problem now?

I decided to leave behind my cables and check it out. _Check it out… Man, I miss _So Random! _so much…_

I was about to leave the stage when all of a sudden I heard the bursting of water balloons. Making sure I was safely hidden so that I wouldn't look too suspicious, I peered out the glass doors.

Chad was yelling at someone up on the roof while water balloons were being thrown at him. He yelled at them again, and then angrily walked away. The people up on the roof must have been pretty annoyed, because then they started letting a whole bunch of balloons loose, which made a pretty spectacular sight.

After I was sure that the roof dwellers had released all of their balloons, I left my safe spot and ran after Chad.

"Chad!" I called. "Chad, wait up!"

"Hey, it's that Allie girl!" I heard Grady say. "But what's wrong with her hair?"

A gasp that could only belong to Tawni was the next thing that I heard. "She looks just like me! Except not as pretty!"

"She's kind of cute," Nico's voice said.

"She's way out of your league, bucko," Zora said.

Of course my costars had to be the ones pelting Chad with water balloons. I bet they even said, "Take this storm of waterfalls, Falls!" I remembered how long it had taken Grady to come up with such a ridiculous line as that one.

But at that moment, I heard something other than the _So Random! _stars. I heard the sound of screeching tires. And the car the screeching belonged to was coming straight at Chad!

"Chad!" I yelled. He didn't seem to notice the car or myself. "_Chad!_" I cried more urgently. He still didn't notice me or the car.

I made a decision in the nick of time. I ran over to where Chad was standing as fast as I could and knocked him out of the way of the speeding car. The car had barely missed us.

While we were toppled over, my wig accidentally came off. Making sure Chad's face was still firmly planted in the asphalt, I picked up my wig and put it back on. When I looked back at the speeding car, the passenger had rolled down his window and was looking straight at us. My heart stopped.

The chef. He now knew what my disguise was now.

"Mmph!" Chad mumbled from underneath me. I got up off of him and helped him stand erect. We stood there for a moment in silence as most of our meetings were turning out to be until he finally said, "Thanks."

"It's nothing," I said, looking down at my feet and kicking around a rock.

"I-I'll see you around."

He stumbled away to the commissary while rubbing his head painfully. I rested there in my spot for a few seconds, thinking about how lucky Chad was that I was there, until I realized something. The man in the car was the chef. The same person who ruined my life. And now he was back for even more revenge. And he was going to get it by killing Chad Dylan Cooper.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Wait up, Chad!"

* * *

For the next week, I stayed close to Chad as his silent bodyguard. At first, he was a bit wary and kept running away from me every time I tried to talk to him, but around the third day, he finally warmed up to me. We even became good friends. At least, that's what I thought.

Whenever I brought up our new found friendship, he would get that Mackenzie far-off look on his face and say, "Yeah. I guess so." I was under the impression that he still had feelings for me. After all, didn't he say that he loved me?

One day I went over to his dressing room and he was just sitting around, looking sullen.

"What's the matter, Chad?" I asked.

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," I said, taking a seat on the couch.

"I'm just trying to figure out what I'm feeling, that's all."

"Maybe I could help. What kind of feelings do you know you're feeling right now?"

"Depression. Confusion." His voice was dropped down to a faint whisper. "Love."

My body grew tingly. "Let's start with depression. How do you feel about that?"

Chad gave me a look. "What are you, a therapist?"

"If that's what you want me to be."

He sighed. "I feel depressed about depression."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, why do you feel depressed?"

"Sonny." One word could mean so much. "And because of my confusion."

"Why are you confused?"

"Because I don't understand something."

_Thank you, Captain Obvious. _"What don't you understand?"

"Love."

This was going nowhere and fast. "Why don't you just tell me why you are feeling all of these things?"

"I can't."

"You can't physically speak, or do you just don't want to tell me?"

"A little of both."

_Both? _"What do you mean?"

"Allie, have you ever liked someone? I mean really, really liked someone?"

"…You could say that."

"Imagine that that person left you forever. How would you feel about that?"

"I would feel sad. Maybe a little angry." _Where is Chad going with this?_

"But say that there's a new person. Say this person is exactly like the old person you liked before, but with a few different things."

My heart stopped beating for a second. "Chad, what-"

He stopped me with a wave of his hand. The next thing I knew he was next to me on the couch.

"I only know three of my emotions right now, but I know that there's a fourth one that I'm feeling," Chad whispered. "And I'm about to find out what that last one is."

He was leaning in. Oh my gosh, what was he doing? Wasn't this the same guy who was still hung up on his dead girlfriend? How could he cheat on me with me?

But I closed my eyes and prepared my lips for the thing we used to do all the time. Time was starting to slow down to a stop. Any minute now, I would feel the sensation that I dubbed the Cooper Kiss.

But he didn't connect. I could feel his breath lingering on my mouth. I only had to lean in about a centimeter and our lips would be together.

"I can't do this," he murmured, his voice low and husky. "You're just too much like her. Too much like Sonny."

He got up from the couch and sighed. "I know what that last feeling is now," he said. "Loneliness." He sat down in front of his vanity and started to comb his already perfect hair.

At that moment, I decided that I had to do something. Something that might help Chad out with his thoughts and emotions. And I knew exactly what to do.

* * *

**Please review!**


	7. This Phrase Seems Familiar

**I loved this chapter. I don't care if you hate it, but this one will definitely be my favorite out of them all. Anyway, happy reading!**

* * *

Tawni's POV

_A week ago…_

I stormed into the Prop House with my cast mates following close behind.

"I can't believe that we didn't get Chad to tell us anything about what happened to Sonny!" I exclaimed. "I would have thought that our water balloons would have blown his mind!"

"At least it got us back to our regular selves," Grady added. "Kind of."

"Who cares? I just thought that our water balloons deserved more credit since they were so awesome."

"You could make the argument that our little stunt was pretty lame, though," Zora said. "Especially since it was _your _idea."

"Whatever!" I snapped back.

"Enough about what we did to Chad," Nico said. "Did you see that car coming at him? And how Allie just magically swooped in and saved him?"

"That was strange," Grady agreed. "It was almost like that car was directly aiming for Chad."

"Thank goodness Allie was there." I said. "Although I really would not have minded if it hit Chad just a little bit."

"But don't you guys think that it was a bit odd that Allie risked her life for Chad?" Zora asked. "Doesn't that seem peculiar?"

"Maybe she likes Chad," a sad Nico suggested.

"Or maybe there was something different going on," Zora said suspiciously. "Almost as if it was… staged."

"She _was_ conveniently just leaving the _Mackenzie Falls _set," I thought out loud.

"And she seemed so… confident that she would reach Chad in time." Grady said. "I mean, if Nico was out there about to be hit by a car and he was on the other side of the street, I probably wouldn't go risk my life to go and save him."

"Thanks a lot, G."

"So either Allie really likes Chad-" said Zora.

"-or Chad really likes Allie," I finished.

"What? No, that's not how it's supposed to be finished!" Zora said, shaking her head. "Allie really likes Chad or it was all a setup. Now, which one seems more likely?"

"Allie really liking Chad!"

"It being a setup!"

"Me not getting a girlfriend!"

Zora looked at us with a disgusted look on her face. "You guys are all buffoons."

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "I take much offense at that!"

"No time for compliments!" Grady said happily.

"G, that wasn't a compliment."

"Oh, it wasn't?"

"Oh. My. Goodness." Zora said through gritted teeth. "I can't take this anymore! You people are all idiots!"

"Hey!" I cried again. "I take much offense at that!"

"No time for-"

At that point Zora screamed while pulling her hair out and stomped out of the Prop House.

"Geez, what was her problem?" I asked.

The boys group grumbled their agreement.

* * *

Chad's POV

_Present time..._

I entered my dressing room fully recharged from a good night's sleep. My head had been spinning with the events of what happened between Allie and I. But now, the world was bright and making sense again, and Chad Dylan Cooper was back, baby!

However, the bright and happy world swiftly turned into a world of darkness when I took a better look at my room.

Trashed. That was just one of the words that came to my mind. Disgusted, violated, scared, vandalized, and who-in-the-world-had-access-to-my-dressing-room were more words.

My clothes were torn apart and scattered all over the floor in different directions. My couch looked like a cat had been living on it for the past five years, and the pillows and seat cushions were flown across the room. All of my beautiful pictures of myself were ripped and destroyed. I picked up one of the torn photos and looked at it more carefully. It was a picture of Sonny and I, ripped right down the middle between us.

My stained glass lamp had been shattered to bits and pieces of it were everywhere. And on my vanity mirror, the words "CHAD DYLAN COOPER WILL DIE" were spray painted on it in permanent red ink.

But what was most suspicious was that my air vent was open with the screws lying helplessly inside the air duct.

* * *

"Flora!" I shouted at the miniature Random when I found her.

"It's _Zora_. What do you want, Pooper?"

"It's _Cooper_."

"Now we're even."

"Look, why did you trash my dressing room?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zora said, avoiding eye contact.

"I know that you had to be the one to destroy my room! You're the only person I know who climbs around in the air ducts!"

"Hardly proves that I did whatever to your dressing room."

"My door can only be unlocked by a special custom made key. And I have both keys, the regular one and the backup, with me here in my pocket!"

"So someone snuck a peek at your key and made an exact copy. Big deal."

"'_Big deal_'?" I snarled at her. I pointed a waggling finger at her. "I'll show you a big deal!"

"Hey, calm down!" Zora yelled. "I'm sorry about your dressing room, okay? But I had _nothing to do with it_!"

"I know it was you!" I shouted. "It has to be you!"

"I could have sworn we just got through all of this. I didn't do anything to your dressing room!"

"Fine! Whatever you say! But first, could you tell me where you were last night?"

"I… I was at a meeting with my fellow _So Random! _stars. We were discussing who would replace Sonny."

"Aha! You lie! I know because Grady kept prank calling me in the afternoon through the night with his home phone! Kind of an idiot, though. Did he not know that I had caller ID?"

"Ha! You're telling me."

"Yeah- Hey, stop changing the subject! This just proves that you vandalized my dressing room! Are you Randoms finally getting better at your tomfoolery? Or is this for your stupid prank show?"

"I would feel much better answering you if your fist wasn't in my face."

I didn't realize that I seemed like I was about to punch the little girl. I chuckled nervously and released my grip.

"Thank you. Now, listen," Zora said as she leaned in closer. "I'm being blackmailed."

"Who would want to blackmail _you_?"

"Hey! Anyways, this guy comes up to me and says, 'So I hear you want to get rid of Chad Dylan Cooper, huh?' and I say, 'Not get rid of him, but just find out what he's up to,' and then the guy says, 'Listen, girly, you help us or else,' and I was all like, 'Girly? Who are you calling girly?' and he says 'Help us out or your gnome gets it!' and then he pulls out Gnomey from his trench coat and then I had to agree with him to save my poor little gnome." Zora took a deep breath here.

"Wait," I said. "Back up. A guy in a trench coat? Was he wearing thick glasses? And he sort of smelled like breadsticks?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"The waiter!" I said in triumph and suspicion. "Zora, you've been blackmailed by the guy who may or may not have killed Sonny and is currently trying to kill me!"

"_Obviously_," Zora said with a look on her face that told me I was the mayor of Stupidville. "Otherwise I wouldn't have trashed your room in the first place."

"Okay, okay, I'm a little slow! But I have an idea. You don't want me to get killed, do you?"

"I've already said that!" Zora exclaimed. "Honestly, Chad, pay more attention!"

"Sorry! But, here's the plan. On your next assignment that the waiter gives you, you should completely mess up."

"There's so many things wrong with that scheme, all of them leading to your death and my gnome being smashed. But here's a better idea. Your little waiter serial killer is obviously disturbed at your presence, right?"

"He told me that I was probably the only one that could foil his plans."

"Okay, so he thinks that you're a threat. The question is, are you a minor or major threat?"

"Well, let's see. He's threatened me with a knife, almost ran me over with his car, and hired you as his little helper. Does that seem like enough information for you?"

"So we know that you are a big problem to him. And the worse these things get-"

"-the more my life is in danger!"

"People have to stop doing that!" Zora said. "No, the more the waiter's plan is falling apart. So what I'll do is keep tabs on the waiter and whoever else he's working with and find out where his plans stand."

"And what will I do?" I asked.

"Try to stay alive."

* * *

Sonny's POV

I searched through my old dressing room for the object I was currently looking for. I couldn't remember where I had put it, so I had been searching all over for almost an hour now. I was really hoping that Tawni hadn't gotten rid of any of my things.

Finally, I found it. My anniversary present to Chad. This had to get him over his misery and in better spirits. Or it could tragically make him even more upset than he was yesterday. I was hoping for the former.

I headed to the _Mackenzie Falls _stage and knocked on Chad's dressing room door.

"Chad!" I called. "Open up!"

The door opened. "Allie?" Chad said. "What do you want?"

He seemed much happier than yesterday's attitude, but I had already given up so much time finding this that I wasn't about to give it up. "I have something for you."

"Allie, whatever feelings you felt yesterday were, I hope, completely platonic."

"No, this gift isn't from me- well, it kind of is, but- Chad, I was finding some props in Sonny's dressing room and I found this gift addressed to you from her." I held out the gift for Chad to inspect it.

"This… this is from her?" Chad asked in awe.

_No, it's from a fruitcake! _"Yeah. See, here's the tag and everything."

"This must have been the present she was talking about when we were on our last date!" Chad said excitedly. He looked at me and said, "You know, opening up presents isn't as much fun without company."

I took that as my hint to watch him open up his present. "Sure, I'll come watch the unwrapping."

He opened up his door to let me in. My jaw fell open when I saw his room. "What-"

"Long story. But I found out the culprit. Please don't ask."

He cleaned off a spot on his couch for the both of us and we sat down. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, here's to mine and Sonny's almost first year anniversary." He peeled back a wrapping layer. And another. And another. "Wow, Sonny must have learned all of this packaging in Wisconsin!" I smiled. Finally he got through to the actual present.

"A box." Chad pointed out. "That's what she got me. A box."

"There's probably something in it," I said, urging him to not be an idiot right now.

"Right. Smart idea." He flipped over the box and saw that there were actually flaps to it. I held my breath. This was it. I could see Chad opening up my present with full serenity and response without my actual Sonny presence being here. He folded back the flaps and pulled out a jewelry box.

"Sonny… got me jewelry." Chad said disappointed. My hopes were crushed. Oh well, maybe he would like the cardboard box. He opened up the jewelry box and held up the trinket.

"Cool, a locket!" he said happily, my spirits rising. "At first I thought it was going to be earrings or something, but this is much better! The heart shape kind of ruins my Chad masculinity, though."

"I bet it's one of those that you can open up and put stuff inside." I said, hoping Chad would get the hint.

"You're probably right." He searched the locket thoroughly for a clasp. Once he found it, he clicked it open.

"It's a picture of me!" Chad squealed. I tried my hardest not to laugh. "Man, I look good in that picture."

"Hey, what's on the other side of the locket?"

Chad stopped looking at himself to see what I was talking about. His happy glow faded instantly. The room seemed to get deathly quiet. He opened his mouth, but he didn't say a word. His eyes were filled with remorse and sorrow, and in the light, you could see a tear starting to flow down his cheek. The locket fell between his fingers, slipping and falling in what seemed like slow motion.

"I… I have to go." he said softly. I barely heard him. I was so stupid to think that this would cheer him up! He left the room with me still sitting on the couch.

I picked up the trinket and examined it myself. I had gone to seven jewelry shops to find the right locket. When I did, I carefully cut out a picture of Chad in the shape of a heart and spent hours finding the right type of glue to stick it on. When I finally gave up, I went back to the jewelry store and asked them to put the picture in the locket's interior.

While I was there, I noticed a sign saying that they did engravings on small objects. I browsed around the store while thinking of exactly what I wanted to say. When I got my phrase, I told the clerk. She smiled and told me that she would do this for me for free.

And so, on one side of the locket is a beautiful picture of the handsome Chad Dylan Cooper. But on the other side, there is a message. A message probably meaningless to someone of our age. A message that was just empty words. But at that time, and still to this day, it conveyed exactly what I was feeling.

_A lifetime mine, forever yours._

_

* * *

_**The changing of time wasn't too strange, was it? Oh well. Please review! **


	8. The Funeral

**If you don't like depressing chapters, you might as well just skip this one, if you haven't seen the title of this chapter. But, if you do skip it, you'll probably be pretty confused come next chapter. So, I suggest you read this with something happy nearby.**

* * *

Sonny's POV

For the next few days all Chad did was sit around and mope. It was getting to be unbearable. I didn't think I could handle any more of Chad being upset. Today I was eating a sandwich and he was just staring off into space with his big blue eyes full of sadness and despair with his food untouched and cold.

I finally got so tired of watching him that I walked up to him and said, "Chad, it's going to be alright. Sonny truly loved you. You shouldn't be upset about that."

"It's not just that," Chad said. "Her funeral is tomorrow."

I was stopped dead cold. My funeral. Of course people would eventually give me one. It had been almost two weeks since my death had gone public. It just… didn't seem right.

Chad looked at my confusion and said, "You probably didn't get an invitation because you didn't know her. It's okay, I'll give you mine. If you really want to go to something so dreadful."

I paused. Did I want to go to a place filled with people I loved who were sad and weeping over me? Could I physically and emotionally take such pain? But then again, I _was_ curious to see how everyone would react. After all, it's my funeral.

Curiosity won. "I could come if you wanted me to," I said.

"Okay. Here's the invitation with all the information. I've kept it around with me ever since I got it." An awkward pause. "See you." And that was the end of that discussion.

I spent the night searching for a black dress through my clothes piles. It took a while of searching, but I finally found one that looked like it might remotely fit me. I tried it on. It was about two sizes too large, but it was the closest thing I had.

I laid down on my couch and took off my wig. Tomorrow, I was going to my own funeral.

* * *

I went to the address on the invitation and was surprised to see that it had lead me to the church my mom and I went to. When I first moved to California, I searched for one of the most beautiful and friendly churches of all. So I eventually came across this one. From the moment I had stepped in through the doors of the church, I had loved every bit about it.

Police cars were around the outside, controlling traffic and hysterical fans. I gulped. I had almost forgotten about how the fans most have been taking this.

I willed myself not to cry as I climbed up the steps. I took a deep breath and walked through the church doors.

I cried.

The whole place was decorated in a way where it was still mournful, but somehow retained my sunny personality. Everywhere I looked, there was someone I knew and loved, and they had all come here to mourn over my death. I had caused all of this pain. But nothing broke my heart even more than when I saw the person I loved the most.

My mom.

She was in the corner, her eyes bloodshot, her cheeks wet with tears. Her lipstick was harsh against her now pale body, and her hair was sticking up like it hadn't been combed in weeks. She was talking to someone who looked a bit like her. My stomach grew sick.

Lucy. She must have flown in here all the way from Wisconsin. Just to be near my presence one more time. I had to settle myself down in a pew to regain my composure.

"Terrible, isn't it?" a voice behind me said. "Such a tragedy. What chaos the death of one little girl can bring to the world. I heard there were reporters and fans all over the place trying to get in. Luckily, they've got police clearing it up but, seriously, some people get so worked up."

I turned around. "You," I said, my voice dripping with hatred.

The chef tipped his bowler hat at me. "Hello, miss, I don't think that we have met before. However, it seems that you are under the impression that I am someone else."

"How dare you show your face up at my funeral."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the chef said nonchalantly. "This is the funeral for Sonny Munroe."

"If you had any respect for me or my family and friends, you'd leave my life and never come back."

"Somebody's a little bitter. But I still have no idea what you are blabbering on about."

"Don't play coy, chef. You know perfectly well who I am and what I'm talking about."

The chef leaned in closer to me. "See what I can create?" he snarled. "See what I can do to people? I see you've followed my advice and stuck to the shadows. Smart girl. But while you've wallowed in misery and poverty, I have been living in the lap luxury of being the doctor that tried so hard to save poor, innocent, little Sonny from a terrible event involving tree nuts."

I stared at him blankly. "How did you even know about my allergy in the first place?"

"A chef just knows." He looked around the church and pointed at Chad. "Been worrying about your boyfriend?"

"No," I lied.

"Well, you should be. Because he's getting smarter and smarter about what's actually been going on. I sent my accomplice to spy on him and shake him up a little bit, but the kid is going to find out about our little secret one day. And when he does," here, the chef crouched down even closer, "he's going to be sorry that he stuck his little nose into our business."

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"I've already messed up your entire life. There's nothing I can't do."

And with that, the chef walked away to visit with a man who looked like the waiter from the restaurant. I hated that guy so much.

The reverend stepped up the church stairs, cleared his throat, and spoke into a microphone. "Hello, friends and family of Miss Sonny Munroe. If you all would, please find a seat and settle down." After the crowd found their seats, the reverend cleared his throat again.

"When you first hear the words Sonny Munroe, the first thing you may think of is the perky girl on the popular show _So Random!_. But to others, it means much more. The words Sonny Munroe mean passion. They mean gratitude. They mean honesty, forgiveness, compassion, and empathy. But most of all, those words mean love. Sonny has left this world with all of you loving her back. And though she is not here physically any more, her spirit lingers on. Because she has truly changed each and every one of us for the better."

There was no way I could go through this. If that was just the reverend, I didn't even want to have to bear my friends and family. I took a deep breath as tears started to form. _Everyone here is here because they love me. Well, almost everyone. And they feel that I have made themselves better._

"I'd like to say a few words," the next person said.

It was Tawni. She sat down on a stool and brought the microphone closer to her. "Sonny was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be a stuck-up, high-strung girl who cared for nothing but cosmetics and fame. Sonny really has changed me. I can honestly say that I see the world around me like she saw it. Full of wonder and curiosity and the hope that something better will come along." Tawni paused to brush away a tear.

"And I… I can't tell you how much I wish she was back here with us. I miss coming to the studio and seeing her bright personality cheer up whatever was wrong with us at the time. I wish I could just have one more day with her to tell her that I truly loved spending time with her. Without Sonny, I would have never felt a true friend."

Tawni stepped down from the microphone to return to her seat. I was left with a cold, empty feeling. I felt like I wasn't at my funeral anymore. I was at someone else's. And all of these people were here for her, not me. I didn't have this effect on these wonderful people. That was the other girl. That was Sonny.

When I saw the next person come up to the microphone, I knew I wasn't going to be able to contain myself.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm going to sing a song for you," Chad said. He picked up the guitar he had carried up on stage and started to strum.

_Don't sing the song, don't sing the song, don't sing the song__-_

"_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine-_"

He sung the song.

_"You make me happy_  
_When skies are grey._  
_You'll never know, dear,_  
_How much I love you._  
_Please don't take my sunshine away_

_The other nite, dear,_  
_As I lay sleeping_  
_I dreamed I held you in my arms._  
_When I awoke, dear,_  
_I was mistaken_  
_And I hung my head and cried._

_You are my sunshine,_  
_My only sunshine._  
_You make me happy_  
_When skies are grey._  
_You'll never know, dear,_  
_How much I love you._  
_Please don't take my sunshine away._

_I'll always love you_  
_And make you happy_  
_If you will only say the same_  
_But if you leave me_  
_To love another_  
_You'll regret it all some day;_

_You are my sunshine,_  
_My only sunshine._  
_You make me happy_  
_When skies are grey._  
_You'll never know, dear,_  
_How much I love you._  
_Please don't take my sunshine away._

_You told me once, dear_  
_You really loved me_  
_And no one else could come between_  
_But now you've left me_  
_And love another_  
_You have shattered all my dreams;_

_You are my sunshine,_  
_My only sunshine._  
_You make me happy_  
_When skies are grey._  
_You'll never know, dear,_  
_How much I love you._  
_Please don't take my sunshine away-"_

I couldn't take it anymore. I burst out of the church in tears. I plopped my self down on the steps and buried my head in my arms. The phrase Chad had sung was echoing in my mind and driving me insane. _You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away__-_

I screamed. The pain hurt too much. And at that moment I decided something very important. I was going to tell the world that I was still alive.

I got back up from the steps and prepared myself to confront my biggest fear. But I never got a chance.

The door slammed open and a fist holding a soaked cloth came flying at my face. I took one whiff and I knew I was a goner. I screamed as loudly as I could. The last thing I remembered was the face of the holder looked even more familiar than before.

* * *

**When I first heard the song, You Are My Sunshine, I was in the first grade, and the kids around me would sing it to death. However, being first graders, they only knew the main part of the song. So when I looked up the lyrics, I was astounded by how wonderful this song fit into my story. Yeah, it's an overused song in SWAC fan-fics (or at least, I think it is) but you know, it just fits. Digressing over, thanks for the reviews, everyone! And keep on keeping on!**


	9. Who Are You Really?

**Behold, the climax of the story!

* * *

**Chad's POV

I finished up my song, and every eye in the audience had a tear. I put up my guitar to see what was the matter with Allie, but some guy in a bowler hat beat me to it. He ran like the dickens out of the church and out the door.

"Beautiful song," Portlyn said to me as I went down the stairs.

"Thanks, Port."

_Sonny, wherever you are, just know that I hope you heard that song I sang for you._

My thoughts, however, were cut off by a guttural scream from outside. It ran shivers down my spine. It had to belong to Allie. But why did it sound so familiar?

I ran to the doors of the church with everyone looking like they just saw a banshee. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened up the doors.

The bowler hat guy, which happened to be the chef, was tying some sort of kerchief around Allie's mouth. But that's not what shocked me. It was her hair.

A blonde wig was laying beside her in utter defeat. With the wig gone, it revealed beautiful chocolate brown hair. I was hallucinating. I knew it. But I just stood there, staring at her. She couldn't possibly…

A few people from inside the church bumped into me as they were leaving. The chef, realizing that he had a crowd, scooped Allie up and ran towards his car.

"Stop that man!" one of the funeral attendants shouted. The others with him shouted their agreement.

As the chef sped away and more people left the church, I forgot all memory in my mind except for one thought.

Sonny was still alive.

* * *

Sonny's POV

I woke up to a blistering headache and aching lungs. It felt like someone had taken my body and smashed it with a hammer.

I rubbed my eyes and took further notice of my surroundings. This time I didn't wake up in a hospital. I was in some sort of office building, laying down on an uncomfortable couch.

"Have a nice nap?" a sinister voice that could only belong to the chef said.

"What happened? Where am I? Why are you doing this?"

"I knocked you out with chloroform and took you somewhere away from the crowds, you're in the offices of Johnson & Bradley, and that answer would be very long to try and explain. There's your questions answered in a nutshell. Don't worry; it's not tree nuts."

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

The chef looked at me strangely. "You're surprisingly calm for someone who was just knocked out by your new nemesis. What's wrong, did you get a little emotional at your funeral?"

I exhaled loudly and stood up from my spot. "I'm not afraid of you anymore, chef," I said courageously. "I'm tired of your games that end up nowhere. I don't care that you ruined my life; I'm living a pretty good one right now, thank you very much. But now I know that I can go back to my original self whenever I want to. I'm not afraid of what will happen because I know I have the best of friends with me by my side."

The chef scoffed. "Those aren't true friends. They'll leave your side in a snap if they have to. Everyone will leave you behind once they hear that something's wrong with you. Even the people that you love will abandon you."

And suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. The real reason the chef was doing all of this and going to all of this trouble. "Chef, are you talking from personal experience?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why you're so bitter all the time to me. Something happened in your life; I can see it in your eyes and tell from the way you talk."

"Not important."

"Chef," I said quietly. "Who are you really?"

"What difference does it make? What would we accomplish with me telling you who I am?"

"If you tell me, we can find out."

The chef averted his glare at me. "I'm a chef. What else is there to know?"

"A lot more. Like, your first name for instance."

"I'm the Bradley in Johnson & Bradley. Besides owning a restaurant, I own a small business office."

"Well, what's your first name?"

"That was my first name."

"Shouldn't your last name be in the title of your business?"

"Who are you, a little child you doesn't know the first thing about management, going off telling me what I can and cannot name my property?"

"Somebody's _bitter_."

"Quiet, you!"

"So, are you going to tell me your last name or not?"

"Why should I?"

"You owe me this much."

"I owe you nothing."

"Look!" I shouted. This was getting frustrating. It was like talking to a three year old. "It's like you said, what difference does it make? So why are you so hesitant to tell me your last name?"

The chef, Bradley, got a gleam in his eyes. "Because sometimes, one name can make a huge difference."

"Chef." I said. "Bradley. What's your last name?"

"You already know it," he whispered. "You've known it all your life."

"I'm not exactly in the mood for riddles."

"It's not a riddle at all. What's the only name you could have known your whole life?"

"You're still not making any sense."

The chef sat up straighter. "Well to paraphrase from a popular movie," he said and then cleared his throat, "Sonny… I am your father."

Chad's POV

_Sonny was alive, Sonny was alive, Sonny was alive…_

"Take a right here! I'm pretty sure I saw that guy take a right!" I had hitched a ride with one of the funeral people who claimed that he was a cop and could go as fast as he wanted. Nevertheless, I buckled in tightly and held onto the bar above me for dear life.

Currently, the cop was bickering around with his partner about where the chef went. "I'm pretty sure he took a left here, nearby the Johnson & Bradley building."

"No, he took a right!"

"He took a left!"

"He took a right!"

"I'm the driver, and I say left!"

"Well, I have perfect vision, and I say right!"

"Guys!" I shouted. The two stopped bickering for a second. "Is it really necessary for you to yell at each other, especially when we are driving at top speed and there's tons of traffic?" That shut them up.

When we got to the intersection we swerved to the left. "Idiot!" the man in the passenger's seat said. "You went the wrong way!"

"I'm going the right way, _idiot_!"

"Hey, don't call me an idiot, idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot-"

"Guys!"

"Sorry."

We drove at a terrifying velocity through the seats. I let go of the bar to clasp my hands together in prayer. _Sonny, wherever you are right now, please tell me you are still alive. _

Sonny's POV

"Dad?" I said incredulously. "Dad? Dad! _Dad_?"

"Yes, I'm your father! Any other questions?"

I was in shock right now. This really couldn't be my father. "How… how could you?" It was the only question I really wanted answered.

"I'm a grown man."

"But why did you have to do this to your own daughter?"

He didn't respond for a second. He seemed deep in thought. But then he said, "You ruined my own life, Sonny. I was getting back at you for revenge."

"But… but why? Why did I ruin your life? I can barely remember you."

"The day you were born, I thought I was the luckiest guy in the universe. I knew that you were so much better than all of the other babies. And your mother thought so, too. In fact, she loved you too much. She thought you were the greatest person in the world."

"You… you were jealous of me. You were jealous of a little baby."

"…You could say that. But that look your mother gave you… it was a look full of love. A look I'd never seen on her face before. I had never gotten so much as an infatuated look from your mother. It made me feel so sad inside."

"And this turned you into some evil person?"

"The day you were born, I was a changed person. The world didn't seem to be the same anymore, and not in a good way. Your birth made me and your mother spread more and more apart. Suddenly, it grew to the point where I didn't even recognize the woman I married, she was so wrapped up in taking care of you. And I was becoming a disgrace to her because I couldn't get enough money to finish my doctor's degree. So, I gave her an ultimatum. It was me or you. You can guess which one she picked."

"So… all this time. All this time you've just been waiting to come and get revenge on your daughter," I said, hardly believing the words that were coming out of my mouth. "You've just been at your restaurant for the past eighteen years, waiting to come and poison me with my allergy you knew about."

"I make some stupid choices sometimes, Sonny."

"You still have time to correct them, though."

My dad laughed hollowly. "I'm in too deep already. There's no going back now."

"Dad…" I said softly. "You probably expect me to hate you. That I should tell you that you're the worst dad in the world for trying to kill your own daughter."

"Never kill," my dad said. "I never planned on killing you. I'm not cut out for murder. However, the waiter, Johnson, was all set for death. But, yeah, I expect you to tell me all of those things and more."

"But I just can't. I mean, you're my dad. I could never hate you."

"What difference does it make if I'm your dad or just some stranger?"

"A whole lot. You're family. And I can't just give that up. You've made some mistakes. But we can fix them. Together."

He laughed again. "Oh, Sonny, you're so naïve. No one can help me now."

I was about to say something else when the door slammed open.

"Freeze, suckers!" cried a man holding a police badge.

"Who are you?" my dad said angrily. "And what are you doing, just barging on in to my office?"

"About to serve some quality justice!" he yelled. He turned to his partner and said, "See, I told you, idiot!"

"Yeah, but I told you what room to go to based on those muddy footprints!" the other guy said.

The policeman ignored him and turned back to my father. "Any last words before you go downtown, punk?"

"Yeah," my dad said. "Goodbye."

The next thing he did was run straight to the window, open it up, and jump out of it.

"_Dad!_" I shrieked. "_No!_"

I rushed to the window. "Does that still count for my criminal catching record?" the policeman asked his partner.

I peered out and sighed at what I saw. A huge company pool that was fifty feet wide and it looked like it could be fifty feet deep.

"What just happened?" someone asked behind me. I turned around.

Chad.

The next few seconds that happened were so sweet and sentimental that I could have sworn time slowed down for us. We locked eyes together, and at that moment, we knew that no more secrets and lies were present in us. We ran at each other the way they do in sappy romantic movies, and he caught me around the waist and I curled my arms around his neck, and we started to kiss passionately.

We stayed like that for a long time.

* * *

**So, did everything make sense by now? Did I do a good job? On another note, yay, happy ending! If you've read some of my SWAC one-shots, you'll know that I'm notorious for really depressing endings. Anyway, one last chapter to go! See you then!**


	10. The End

**I am _so _sorry for the late delay! I've been really busy lately (12 hours a day for the past week and I get about 8 hours of sleep) and I haven't had much time to sit down and write. But I finally got around to doing it! First off, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, alerted, and read (2000+ views? You're all so awesome!). You may not think it matters, but it makes a huge difference to me. Thank you guys so much! And I want to thank the people who stuck with my story to the end. I really appreciate everything. Truly. **

**Okay, I'm done giving sappy speeches! Shall I present the final chapter?**

* * *

Sonny's POV

_One month later…_

I knocked on the door of Chad's dressing room. "Come in; it's unlocked!" he called.

I opened the door carefully as to conceal what I was hiding behind my back. "Hey, Chad." I said.

"Hey, what's up, Sonny?"

"Chad, do you know what today is?"

"The day we start filming our Christmas episode?"

"No," I said. I cleared my throat. "Happy first year, one month, and two weeks anniversary!"

"Ah, thank you!" Chad said, his look telling me that he was just remembering this, even though he really wasn't paying me any attention. "Did you get me anything?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I did."

He looked up from his _Mackenzie Falls _script that he was reading while I was talking to him. "Well, where is it?"

"It's right in front of you."

"What, my script? That's a lousy gift."

"No, I meant me."

"Sonny, I know that I'm always saying that you are the greatest gift in the world, but I was hoping for something more… tangible."

I rolled my eyes again. My boyfriend was quite the charmer. "No, I mean I'm holding your gift right now."

"So that's why your hands are behind your back like that. Okay, it makes more sense now." He extended a hand towards me. "Well?"

I plopped the present in his hand. "Happy anniversary!"

Chad's eyes grew wide in excitement. I had given him a golden comb. "This is perfect for my golden locks!" Chad said giddily.

"Glad you like it."

He immediately started combing his hair. "This comb works like a dream!"

"I hope it does!" Then I muttered to myself, "I did spend a lot of money on it."

When Chad finished combing, he came over to me and said, "Sorry, Sonny, but I don't have any present to give to you. But-" he said, turning down the lights, "I can give you something just as good."

I giggled uncontrollably. We both leaned in and-

"Happy one month anniversary of you still being alive!" voices shouted.

"Why is it so dark in here?"

Tawni switched on the lights to find us almost kissing. "Whoops, guys, looks like we were interrupting something!"

"Tawni!" I said, thoroughly annoyed. "And Nico, and Grady, and Zora."

"Sorry!" Zora said. "But we couldn't help but celebrate the fact that you're still alive. Someone -aka Portlyn- told us that you were in Chad's dressing room, so we brought a cake in here and everything!"

"Well, I _was_ about to kick you out of my dressing room," Chad said, "but now that you've brought cake, I _guess_ I can let you stay for one slice."

My cast mates immediately cleared off a space on Chad's vanity, much to his horror of seeing all his precious hair products being knocked to the ground. Nico and Grady pushed in at least thirty candles on the cake, one for each day I'd been alive, I assumed, and Zora lit the whole thing on fire.

"Let's sing our public domain song!" Tawni cried out.

My cast mates took a deep breath and started to sing. "_For she's a jolly good fellow! For she's a jolly good fellow! For she's a jolly good felloooow!_"

"That's definitely still alive!" Tawni sang.

My costars clapped for themselves at their off pitched singing skills.

"Blow out your anniversary cake now so we can get to eating!" Grady said hungrily.

I pulled back my hair to keep it away from the flames and blew as hard as I could. All thirty or more candles blew out in a single breath.

"Hey, wait a second!" Grady cried.

"G, I thought you got trick candles!" Nico said angrily.

"I did!"

"Doesn't look like it! Did you not see them blow out and not relight?"

"I could have sworn that I bought trick candles! I can show you the package!

Zora laughed. "I tricked both of you by switching them out with regular candles!" she said triumphantly.

The boys glared at her with an intense passion.

"Well, no use to letting such good cake go to waste!" Chad said happily, changing the subject from candles to cake. "Let's get to eating!"

We all cheered as Tawni brought out the knife she had been carrying all this time and started to cut us pieces of cake. Once we all had our pieces, she raised hers up and said, "To Sonny!"

"To Sonny!" we cried, clinked together our plates, and then took a bite.

I half expected myself to go into anaphylactic shock.

As we were eating, we made idle chitchat. "So," Chad said, his mouth full of cake, "how's your father doing?"

"He's good," I said. "He's progressing on his therapy, and hopefully he'll be out in a couple of weeks."

"I hope he gets better. Your dad was kind of a weirdo," Tawni said. "Seriously, what kind of father tries to ruin their own kid's life?"

We all looked at Grady, who was in the middle of trying to take a bite of cake. "What?" he cried indignantly. "I said that he didn't love me, not that he was trying to ruin my life! At least my dad's not like Sonny's!"

"Well, he's doing better now, so I should be able to spend time with him without worrying that something bad is going to happen. Well, you know, after he gets out of therapy and prison."

"And what about the waiter?" Nico inquired. "Johnson, was his name? What happened to him?"

"When he found out that my dad had been caught, he hightailed it out of town. He's still out there, running away from the law."

"And didn't you say that he was the more dangerous one?"

"Well, he was the one that pulled off all of the stunts and threats."

"I don't think I can got outside at night anymore," Tawni said fearfully. "Who knows, he may still be in town, just waiting for some innocent person to come! Especially if it's a famous person like myself!"

"Tawni, I wouldn't worry about it too much," I said. "He's probably lost his sense of threat without someone to mentor him."

"Or he could become a notorious mass murderer," Zora said darkly. We all looked at her strangely. She took one look at us and popped a piece of cake into her mouth.

We finished up the cake and my costars filed out of Chad's dressing room. When they were all gone, Chad flipped off the light switch and said, "Now, where were we?"

I giggled.

* * *

I sat on the couch of my living room, twiddling my thumbs. I had picked out my fanciest dress and found my fanciest jewelry, and had I even found my shoes okay. I wanted to look my best, even though he was just coming over to watch a movie with me.

My mom came in. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Mom," I said. "I just have to wait for Chad."

"Is he always this late?"

"Yes," I said shortly.

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. "It's me, Chad!"

My mom left to go into the kitchen as I opened up the door. "Hey, Chad."

He kissed me hello. "Wow, you look great. Too bad we aren't going anywhere."

I looked at him thoroughly, too. "You look nice as well." I took a closer scrutiny of him. "What's that around your neck?"

He pulled out the locket. "If I recall correctly, you gave it to me, didn't you, Sonny?"

I smiled. "At first when I watched you open it, I thought you would hate it."

"How could I hate your declaration of love for me? And a great photo of myself?"

I laughed. "Of course, Chad. Whatever you want to think."

Chad sat down on the couch and I popped in a movie for us. I sat down next to him, and he put his arm around me. We were leaning in for a kiss, but like how most kisses today were turning out to be, somebody had to come in and ruin it.

"I made you kids some popcorn!" my mom said happily.

"Thank you, Mom," I said through gritted teeth. "Now, could you please go somewhere else?"

"Like, back in the kitchen?"

"Like, out of the house."

She took one look at Chad, who waved a hand at her to signal his hello. "Right, Sonny, you want your alone time with _Chad_," she teased.

"_Mom_!"

"Sorry! Have fun on your little date," she said while leaving our apartment.

"Sorry about that," I said to Chad as I sat back down. "My mom can be kind of a dork sometimes."

"No problem. I think your mom is cool."

"Thanks. But you don't have to live with her."

We watched the movie in silence (but yes, it did involve some kissing) and after it was done, Chad bid me goodnight and left.

I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and laid down in my bed. I sighed. Life was perfect for me right now. I had a loving boyfriend, awesome friends, a great home, and the public had forgiven me for the whole death fiasco. It turned out that they really didn't care that I had been living a hidden life. They were just happy that I was still alive.

The next morning I was prepared for a happy, sunshine-y day. The world was in balance and I was living large. With the news of my reappearance, _So Random! _quickly turned into one of the most popular TV shows of today, much to Chad's disappointment. But he got over it quickly when I gave him a kiss after I accepted the Tween Choice Award.

I brushed my hair back into a ponytail and put on my sunglasses. Today was going to be a hot one. I went to _So Random!_'s set and found out that I didn't have the key to get in. I groaned. I may have remembered to keep that dressing room key with me at all times, but I was constantly forgetting my key to my own show.

I had to walk all the way around to the front and enter through the main entrance. As I was running to get to my stage on time, I heard Murphy yell at me through a slice of pizza.

"Hey, Allison!" he yelled. "You forgot to sign out!"~

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next story!**

**-Muddi the Mudkip-**


End file.
